


Changing Colors

by gemmywrites



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Episode: s04e15 Deception, Slow Burn, That's Not How The Force Works (Star Wars), basically the deception arc happens and then i take the plot and run
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28559151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gemmywrites/pseuds/gemmywrites
Summary: Obi-wan’s deception leaves his relationship with Anakin strained, but just as they start to reconcile, Anakin must face the potential of losing Obi-wan again. For real this time.orAnakin grieves, forgives, stumbles, and balances.
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 52
Kudos: 181





	1. ONE

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first fic for this ship, so do be gentle. I have written about 4 chapters already but I like to have more written than what I've posted so I'm aiming for about weekly updates. 
> 
> The rating for this will probably go up to M eventually but it won't be for a while.
> 
> Also! I know in canon Anakin can still kind of feel Obi-Wan in the force, but in this Obi-Wan wears a force inhibitor and it completely cut him off, so Anakin straight up had no clue until he was let in on the plan.

Obi-Wan had fulfilled his orders from the Jedi Council. Although he failed to take Dooku into custody, he did well in saving Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from the Sith Lord. He should be satisfied with his efforts for the Republic, but instead, all the Jedi Master felt was immeasurable grief and betrayal, feelings of which were not his own. Anakin had never been the best at keeping his emotions from trickling through their force bond, but the flood that was currently beating down upon Obi-Wan was unprecedented. It was as if Anakin wasn’t even trying to shield from him.

_Or as if he didn’t have the mental strength to shield at all._

When Obi-Wan removed the force inhibitor that had been allowing him to pose as Rako Hardeen in front of his fellow Jedi, he’d almost collapsed under the weight of Anakin’s emotions. The transition between being force blind to regaining his sensitivity would have been jarring enough without his former padawan practically screaming into the void that their temporarily missing bond had left.

Since returning from his mission, Obi-Wan hadn’t managed to squeeze a word out of Anakin, who seemed to be unable to even spare him a glance as long as he wore the face of another. He thought that Anakin would come around after he returned to his normal appearance, but the boy seemed hellbent on avoiding him at all costs. Anakin practically leapt from the ship before it completely landed at the Jedi Temple and darted away before Obi-Wan had disembarked properly, leaving him to suffer under the emotional repercussions of his deception. It seemed Obi-Wan’s efforts would be rewarded with a sore throat from the voice emulator and the silent treatment from Anakin. 

Now standing in the ‘fresher within his quarters, Obi-Wan hardly recognized himself as he stared into the mirror. His face no longer resembled Rako Hardeen, but the bald head and lack of beard that looked back at him might as well have been a stranger. Obi-Wan winced, dropping his head between his shoulders at the renewed wave of hurt that pushed through his bond with Anakin. He tried to reach out with affection, comfort, reassurance, _anything_ , but Anakin wouldn’t allow him an inch of breathing room. 

_If_ Anakin was projecting on purpose.

He gripped the edge of the sink and mentally apologized as he pushed Anakin away with shields of his own. Obi-Wan felt guilty enough without the knowledge of exactly how much he’d hurt the other man. Ahsoka’s half disbelieving, half relieved teary-eyed face was enough to make him resent the Council’s decision to leave her and Anakin in the dark. Their legitimate reactions were necessary, he couldn’t deny it, but he’d _died_ in Ahsoka’s arms. That was something she’d probably never shake. And Anakin… 

Anakin came rushing into their shared common room, leaving a storm of _hurtbetrayalgrief_ in his wake as he beelined for his room. Obi-Wan inhaled deeply, trying to restore a semblance of order to his mind, and slowly exhaled as he walked the few steps from the ‘fresher to Anakin’s closed door. 

“Anakin…” He called out tentatively. For a moment there was only silence, but it was soon replaced by reluctant shuffling and then the door was sliding open to reveal a Jedi Knight sporting a frown and bloodshot eyes. Anakin’s gaze flickered from the top of Obi-Wan’s head to his chin before settling at his feet. He said nothing. 

“Please.” Obi-Wan took the initiative. This was his mess, after all. “Come out. Let’s talk.”

He tilted his head in the direction of the couch and took two steps back, hoping Anakin would follow. Luckily he did, although he was still perfectly content in watching Obi-Wan’s retreating feet rather than looking him in the eye. The Jedi Master hoped that Anakin’s emotions wouldn’t suffocate them both before they could properly converse. They sat down sideways on the couch, facing each other.

“Do you…” Obi-Wan searched for the right words. “You understand why I did what I did, right? And the reason why you couldn’t know about it?”

These were not the right words. 

Anakin blew air through his nose, chewed his bottom lip, and curled his mechno-hand that rested in his lap into a fist. His blue eyes looked up from the couch cushion that he’d been focused on, and shot a glare through Obi-Wan as if Anakin wasn’t really _seeing_ him. 

“Why… you did what you did?” Anakin echoed with a hollow voice. “You mean… why you thought it was okay to let Ahsoka watch you die, completely helpless? And why you didn’t tell either of us that it wasn’t real? Do you even know– I couldn’t even fe– I almost–”

Anakin snapped his mouth shut. Obi-Wan waited for him to find his voice, sensing that he still had more to say. Betrayal, grief, and pain still berated his mental shields, but Obi-Wan grit his teeth and persevered. 

“Did you even think about how I would feel?” Anakin’s voice was small, barely above a whisper. 

_Yes,_ Obi-Wan wanted to say, _but I had a responsibility to the Council._

Instead, he swallowed and reached to take both of Anakin’s hands in his own. It took some effort to coax the metal fingers into uncurling, but in the end he relented and let Obi-Wan do as he pleased. Touch had always been a soft spot for Anakin.

“I can feel your grief, but I’m right here.” It was Obi-Wan’s turn to be a bit aggressive with their bond. He dropped his shields and pushed back against Anakin’s overbearing emotions, hoping to persuade the boy to reel them in, while also providing him with reassurance and protection. 

“Are you?” Anakin’s words contradicted the way he desperately latched onto Obi-Wan’s force signature. 

“What–”

“Because the Obi-Wan that I knew wouldn’t have betrayed me like that. Or maybe I was wrong.” Anakin snarled, his mood changing in an instant. For as hungrily as he had attached himself to Obi-Wan's presence in the force, he shoved their connection away just as quickly and _finally_ shielded his side of their bond. He launched himself up from the couch, dodged Obi-Wan’s hand that attempted to keep him close, and bolted for the door out of their quarters. 

Obi-Wan sighed and squeezed his eyes shut, guiltily relishing in the freedom from Anakin’s emotions. His relief was short lived, however, because he didn’t need the help of a force bond to feel Anakin’s residual pain and anger on the couch where he had been.


	2. TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan is alone with his guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoy this chapter, out of all the ones I've written so far it is the one that I am the most insecure about.

Obi-Wan hadn’t seen Anakin in three days. The younger man was like a ghost in their shared quarters, leaving traces of his presence without allowing a physical sighting. It wasn’t accidental; Anakin was anywhere Obi-Wan wasn’t. While Obi-Wan was walking within the Jedi Temple, Anakin was nowhere to be found, but when he returned to their rooms, Anakin wasn’t there, either. He was gone by the time Obi-Wan awakened, a very purposeful decision given the fact that Obi-Wan often forced his counterpart out of bed in the mornings, but it was strange because he never heard Anakin come in at night. The only proof he had of Anakin being there at all was the smothering _hurt_ that he projected all over their shared space.

“Master!” Ahsoka’s voice pulled Obi-Wan from his spiralling thoughts. He was thankful that she hadn’t taken his deception as poorly as Anakin, or even if she had, she was still willing to speak with him. The Togruta walked with a bounce in her step, a small light of happiness amidst the darkness of war. 

“Ahsoka.” He greeted her with the best smile he could conjure. “Thank you for meeting with me. Come, let’s walk to the gardens.”

They fell into stride with each other easily, walking in a comfortable silence until they reached their destination. 

“Is Skyguy alright?” Ahsoka spoke up as they stepped over the threshold to the gardens and entered a world of luscious and vibrant plants. She looked up at Obi-Wan expectantly and saw that the question had caused his brow to furrow. 

“That’s what I was hoping _you_ could tell _me_. He’s been avoiding me for three days.” Obi-Wan led the way towards a wooden bench and took a seat, vaguely waving his hand to invite Ahsoka to join him. She hurriedly accepted. The level of concern on her face rivalled his own. 

“I haven’t seen him at all, either. I thought you would have been watching him since…” The Togruta trailed off, suddenly appearing half as guilty as Obi-Wan had been feeling since he removed the force inhibitor. 

“Since what, Ahsoka?” Obi-Wan prompted, noting the way she glanced around to ensure that they wouldn’t be overheard.

“While you were… _gone_ … Anakin wasn’t himself. I mean, he nearly brought down the surrounding buildings when he… _saw you_.” Ahsoka cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably, and looked away, suddenly more interested in the green foliage that surrounded them. The guilt that occupied Obi-Wan’s chest writhed like a weighty parasite. 

“And after that, he locked himself in your apartment and wouldn’t come out for anything. He didn’t eat unless I ate with him and he didn’t seem to be sleeping very well. I think he was having nightmares, but of course he never told me.” Ahsoka could not look any more like she was spilling Anakin’s deepest secrets. 

“How do you know that he slept?” Obi-Wan absently brought a hand up to touch his non-existent beard. “Right now I’m not even sure if he’s coming home at night.”

_Home,_ Obi-Wan inwardly winced. _Why did he say it like that?_

Ahsoka didn’t react to his wording, too caught up in looking anywhere that Obi-Wan wasn’t, which seemed to be a common new habit between Anakin and his padawan. 

“I know because he practically lived in your bed. It took me forever to convince him to move into the kitchen.”

Obi-Wan parted with Ahsoka shortly after that. She excused herself under the impression that she’d agreed to spar with Master Plo Koon, but Obi-Wan was sure that the youngling simply didn’t wish to reveal any more of Anakin’s troubles during his ‘death’. He remained in the gardens long after she left, trying to rein in the monstrous parasite that gnawed on his heart. The meditation session turned out to be highly unsuccessful. His guilt wrapped around him with oppressive strength, refusing to be released into the force. He abandoned the gardens and his mediation attempt with a naive hope that Anakin would be waiting for him in their quarters when he returned. 

It was clear that his wishes would not be granted when he stepped into an empty apartment. He hadn’t really thought that Anakin would suddenly come around, but optimism was the only thing saving his battered mental state. Obi-Wan stood in the center of his bedroom, looking around as if expecting to see a replay of Anakin's actions while he had been gone, running around as Rako Hardeen. 

There was no visual evidence of Anakin ever inhabiting his room. If Ahsoka was being truthful, and Obi-Wan didn’t see a reason why she wouldn’t be, Anakin had made sure to keep his room as intact as he’d found it. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and opened himself to the force, reaching out for any residual signs of Anakin’s presence. He felt nothing at first, or at least nothing other than the _hurtbetrayal_ that had been permeating in their quarters for the past three days. 

_He practically lived in your bed._

Obi-Wan took a breath to steady himself and moved towards his mattress. He placed a hand upon his sheets and was rewarded with the faintest essence of comfort. The force signature was distinctly Anakin’s, and seemed so old that Obi-Wan had no doubt that it would have dissipated already if Anakin didn’t burn so brightly within the force. 

Guilt welled up in Obi-Wan’s chest. It would be easy to drown in the feeling if he allowed himself to let go. The visualization of Anakin curled into a ball threatened to pull him under. A broken boy, left only with the familiar scent of Obi-Wan’s sheets as a source of solace from his grief. 

He straightened his wrinkled bedspread and then retreated to the kitchen to start dinner. 

After Obi-Wan’s successful deception as Rako Hardeen, the Council had mercifully awarded him and Anakin ten days of time off, assuming that nothing drastic happened in their absence from the field. He wasn’t sure if the Council was emotionally receptive enough to understand that Anakin needed a break as well, or if they were just worried about the consequences of him not being able to recover from the betrayal. Either way, Obi-Wan was glad to be temporarily relieved from what felt like endless violence and death. He was certain that Anakin would feel the same if Obi-Wan hadn’t pushed him past his emotional capacity and left only his padawan to help him flounder in its depths. Now it didn’t seem like much of a break for Anakin at all, only a different type of battle. 

He’d still been unsuccessful in communicating with the younger man, five days after returning to the temple. While Obi-Wan had felt absolutely overwhelmed by Anakin’s emotions before he closed off their bond, he found himself wishing for that horrible pain to return. He needed to feel _something_. Anything would be better than the deafening silence from Anakin’s side of the bond. 

Anything would be better than getting called upon by the Council during his supposed break.

Obi-Wan dreaded the coming conversation, and mulled over its possible subject during his entire walk to the High Council Chamber. Had something happened to Anakin? 

He thanked the force that the only two Jedi on the opposite side of the door to the chamber were Master Yoda and Mace Windu instead of the entire Council. They sat in chairs low to the ground and looked at him expectantly as he strode inside. 

“Worried about Knight Skywalker, we have been.” Yoda began. Obi-Wan stood in the center of the circular room and folded his arms into the sleeves of his robes. “Elusive, he has become.”

Obi-Wan glanced at Mace, who had pursed his lips as if he had something to add but thought better of it. He returned his attention to Yoda. Ignoring Windu’s aversion to Anakin was easy by now. 

“I admit to having concerns as well.” Obi-Wan conceded. “Although I don’t know how much help I will be able to provide, seeing as I am the cause of his behavior in the first place.”

“Skywalker is responsible for his own behavior.” Windu clipped. 

Obi-Wan bit the inside of his cheek. If the matter was between any other two Jedi, he knew that he would agree with Windu. If Obi-Wan was a perfect Jedi, he’d enforce that his actions were imperative to keeping Chancellor Palpatine safe. He’d tell Anakin that there was no room in a Jedi’s life for attachments to others. But Anakin wasn’t just _any_ Jedi, and Obi-Wan wasn’t a perfect one, either. Anakin’s emotions always _burned_ and refused to be stifled out, and Obi-Wan had never doused them himself during his years spent raising the boy, no matter how many times the Council had warned that his padawan was unruly. 

“What would you like me to do, Master?” Obi-Wan asked, directing his question to Yoda. 

“Emotional, Skywalker is. Clouded, his future has always been. Reconcile immediately, you must.” The Jedi Master advised, uncomfortably somber. 

“Respectfully, Master, I can’t even _find_ Anakin right now, let alone convince him to speak with me. I feel the best course of action is to let him come to _me_ when–”

“Reconcile immediately.” Master Yoda repeated. “Or lose Skywalker to his own emotions, you will risk.”

Obi-Wan’s spine went rigid as he processed Yoda’s warning. Even Master Windu seemed surprised at Yoda’s words, turning his head to look directly at the smaller Jedi Master beside him. Obi-Wan’s jaw clenched and his throat suddenly felt as if he hadn’t drank water for days. For Master Yoda to suggest that Anakin could Fall… or maybe Obi-Wan hadn’t understood correctly. Losing Anakin to his own emotions wasn’t exactly uncommon, especially during his padawan years, but it must be much more severe if Yoda felt the need to speak with him about it. 

“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand.” He shook his head in disbelief. “What are you suggesting?”

Master Yoda let out a sigh and slowly lowered his head to stare down at his three-fingered hands. 

“Suffering, I have seen.” He admitted, before shaking his head lightly. “But obscured, my sight is, by the Sith.”

Obi-Wan nodded while his hand carded through his hair in distress, Mace Windu following suit by dropping his face and rubbing his temples. He distractedly agreed to do as Yoda asked and offered a proper farewell, anxious to leave the meeting. 

His strides back to his room were long and hurried. He wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and be granted a moment of reprieve from the weight of his poor choices. Whatever Master Yoda had seen couldn’t be true; it was a vision misguided by fear and manipulation from the presence of the Sith in the force. Anakin could never Fall, and certainly not as a result of something Obi-Wan had caused.

He fell asleep wondering what type of mental state he’d been in to forget to make his bed that morning. 

The following day was more of the same.

It was going on one week without seeing a glimpse of Anakin, but Obi-Wan felt haunted by him more than ever. Over time the immense grief that Anakin had been projecting over their apartment dwindled away, but it seemed like the longer Anakin ignored him, the more unstable his block on their bond became. Fleeting moments of their bond ripping open and being flooded with _alonepainbetrayal_ left Obi-Wan mentally exhausted, unable to focus on meditating under the constant expectation of being bombarded with unpleasant emotions. Anakin was clearly a wreck, flitting around the Jedi Temple without being seen, unable to keep a hold on his shields and inadvertently putting Obi-Wan under mental attack while simultaneously rejecting any offers of reconciliation. 

So, Obi-Wan had a plan. 

He’d come to the conclusion that Anakin was spending time in their quarters while Obi-Wan wasn’t there, and was able to do so because Obi-Wan was a very predictable man with a routine. 

Obi-Wan planned to break his routine. Really, the plan was so simple and intuitive that it may as well have been one of Anakin’s. 

After lunch, he’d normally visit the gardens to do a bit of meditation, but seeing as meditation had been off the table recently, there was no better time to go to his room and hopefully catch Anakin. 

He suppressed his force signature as he grew nearer to their quarters, not wanting to give Anakin a chance to notice his presence and escape. They _had_ to talk, and it _had_ to go better than it did last time. Obi-Wan couldn’t take much more of his former padawan’s pain. He placed his hand on the door and summoned a boost of courage, expecting the coming situation to play out similarly to cornering a wild animal. 

He entered their common room silently. All was quiet, the living room was empty, and both of their bedroom doors were closed. Still, Obi-Wan knew that Anakin was there. He could sense him, although his force signature was not as strong as normal, as if Anakin was trying to suppress his as well. As Obi-Wan crossed the living room, his foot caught on a droid part, sending the tiny rounded thing rolling until it collided with the leg of their couch. The small mechanical part sparked hope, as it certainly hadn’t been there that morning. 

Obi-Wan made towards Anakin’s room, sparing his own door a glance that he couldn’t seem to look away from. He reached a hand towards Anakin’s door and quietly slid it open. The room was empty, and so uncharacteristically well organized that it didn’t seem as if Anakin had been occupying it at all.

_He practically lived in your bed._

A shaky sigh deflated his body as realization struck. Obi-Wan’s hand fell from the doorframe as he turned towards his own bedroom. He didn’t want to open it, knowing what he’d find once he did. A sight guaranteed to be too painful to see. 

Obi-Wan rested his forehead against his door. He was closer to Anakin now than he had been all week. Swallowing his guilt, he cracked open the door just enough to peer inside. Obi-Wan’s heart clenched. Anakin was curled up in a ball underneath Obi-Wan’s sheets. His force signature wasn’t as strong because he was asleep. Obi-Wan stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He couldn’t help but notice that Anakin was sleeping on what was decidedly Obi-Wan’s side of the bed. Years ago, it was mutually understood that Obi-Wan’s place was on the left, closer to the door. 

Obi-Wan’s feet moved on their own accord, or maybe he’d just like to think that they had, and took him to the side of the bed. His hand shook as he reached down to brush Anakin’s hair from his eyes, and his teachings whispered that it was inappropriate for him to rest his hand on Anakin’s cheek, even for just a moment. He let his outer robe drop to the floor, forgotten, unable to worry about something as trivial as wrinkles in the face of his biggest failure. Gently, as to not wake the younger man, Obi-Wan maneuvered Anakin back towards the center of the bed, before slipping into his rightful place between him and the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if there are wooden benches in the Jedi Temple, but there are now. 
> 
> The next update will be in one week, on Monday 1/18


	3. THREE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Obi-Wan talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I'm excited to post this chapter because I'm very excited to post the chapters that follow.

Anakin woke to a familiar warmth pressed against his back. It would have been comforting to have Obi-Wan so close to him after being separated for so long, but the only thing that Anakin could focus on was the fact that he’d been _caught_. If he was awake, his master would awaken soon as well, and then they’d have to talk. Anakin did not want to talk. He didn’t know if he’d be able to withstand a lecture about _the code_ and _responsibility_ over the subject of Obi-Wan’s death. Still, he couldn’t summon the willpower to tear himself away from the man whom he believed to be dead not even two weeks ago. 

Obi-Wan was curled snugly around Anakin with an arm slung over his waist. The younger Jedi couldn’t remember the last time they’d slept in the same bed together, it was most likely before he was officially knighted. He felt a pang in his chest, suddenly aware of how much he’d missed their closeness. Anakin relaxed in Obi-Wan’s hold with every intention of relishing in the lost comfort while it lasted. 

It couldn’t have been more than five minutes before Obi-Wan stirred behind him, his presence in the force sharpening as his mind awakened. Anakin squeezed his eyes shut and waited, not feeling any remorse in forcing Obi-Wan to make the first move. The arm that hung over his frame slipped away, retracting back to its owner and leaving a phantom heat where it had been. It would be so easy to reach around, find Obi-Wan’s hand, and pull the man back around him. But he didn’t, and Obi-Wan shifted away, making room for him to place a tentative hand on Anakin’s shoulder and roll him onto his back. Fresh out of ways to avoid their inevitable conversation, Anakin took a breath and opened his eyes to find Obi-Wan propped up on one elbow, already looking down at him. 

Obi-Wan’s blue-gray eyes asked too many questions that he had no desire to answer, prompting him to double check and fortify his mental shields even though Obi-Wan wasn’t actively reaching out through their bond. He suspected that his emotional projection over the past week had taken a toll on the older man. In truth, he hadn’t projected so strongly on purpose, as it was never his intention to cause Obi-Wan any harm, but the emotional rollercoaster that he’d been sent on over the past two weeks left him mentally exhausted. For one bitter moment, he thought that Obi-Wan might deserve his emotional wrath. 

“Good morning.” The man above him greeted, as proper as ever. 

“Morning.” Anakin replied back stupidly. He broke their eye contact to glance around the room, searching for anything else to look at, before coming to the unfortunate conclusion that the only spot his eyes wanted to settle on was on Obi-Wan’s face. 

“Shall I start on breakfast? I can make your favorite.” The confident cadence that usually empowered Obi-Wan’s words seemed to be hindered by the placating tone that one would use to speak to a feral cat.

“No.” Anakin denied, perhaps a bit too quickly. When Obi-Wan quirked an eyebrow and didn’t respond, the younger man realized he was expected to provide a reason for his answer. He curled onto his left side to face Obi-Wan. “Just… stay.”

Obi-Wan let out a sigh that might have been exasperated, weary, or possibly even fond. He complied with Anakin’s request, who had foolishly realized that he’d just trapped himself. If Obi-Wan had left the room to make breakfast, Anakin could’ve at least _tried_ to run, but his heart spoke before his brain had time to deduce the situation. Of course he’d wanted Obi-Wan to stay, he barely saw the man as much as he’d prefer to because of their positions as generals in the war, not to harp on the fact that he’d believed the man to be _dead_ , and was definitely still stuck on the first stage of grief when he found out that he’d been lied to. 

“Tell me what you’re thinking.” It was a loose suggestion in that same tone of voice, trying not to scare the cat away. Anakin stared into the center of Obi-Wan’s chest.

“You lied.” The words renewed a stifling tension between the two men, but Anakin felt as if a weight had been lifted from his heavy heart, and now that he’d started speaking he couldn’t seem to stop. “You let me and Ahsoka watch you die, and you didn’t care.”

Obi-Wan opened his mouth, possibly to protest, but Anakin couldn’t think as to what. 

“I grieved for you while you were right in front of me. I– I could have _killed_ you.” Terror filled his eyes as he moved to sit up, cross-legged on the bed, his back partially to Obi-Wan. “What if I had killed you?”

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan interrupted, sitting up as well and placing a hand on his former padawan’s shoulder. “Don’t go down that path. You didn’t hurt me.” 

Anakin snorted. 

“Yeah. But _you_ hurt _me_.” 

He shrugged the hand off his shoulder and began to climb out of bed. His resentment returned anew, as if the admission ripped away the flimsy scab he’d been trying to form over his wound. He couldn’t look at Obi-Wan, even as the man called his name and hurried out of bed to stop Anakin from leaving. Obi-Wan barely beat him to the door, skidding in front of him and grabbing his arms to hold him in place. 

“Please. Don’t ignore me, we need to talk about this.” He pleaded, trying to catch Anakin’s gaze.

“I have nothing to say.”

“Then let me explain.” Obi-Wan was quick to collect himself, retracting his hands in spite of how much Anakin wished for them to remain. “What you said before… I _do_ care. You must know that I care for you.”

He stared at the floor.

“Oh, Anakin.” His silence was rewarded with those warm hands on him again, this time cradling his face and encouraging him to meet Obi-Wan’s eyes. “I admit that it was my idea to keep you in the dark about the plan. I was thinking about what was best for the mission. I thought that my death–”

Anakin winced.

“–would only be believable if your reaction was genuine. I didn’t think that your reaction would be so…”

Intense. Understandable. Human.

“You thought I would just move on? Let go?” Anakin took Obi-Wan’s hands and pulled them away from his face, voice bordering on incredulous. “Meditate my feelings away?” 

“I admit, that has never been your specialty.” Obi-Wan’s lip quirked in an attempt to lighten Anakin’s mood before accepting that it would not be so easy. “You need to know that I _did_ feel as if I was doing the right thing, but I regret my decision now. I felt your pain, I’ve been feeling your pain, and I’m sorry.”

“Okay.” It’s an agreement and a dismissal. Anakin simply did not know what else to say, not wanting to claim forgiveness when it would be a lie. He attempted to crack a smile. “Will you make me breakfast now?”

Obi-Wan returned the smile and nodded. Anakin followed him into their common area but did not initiate conversation, too wrapped up in new thoughts that had sprouted from what Obi-Wan had just said. He had chosen the code and the Republic over Anakin, which is what a Jedi is meant to do, but it still stung all the same. Yet if Anakin didn’t harbor such an attachment to his former master, then neither of their feelings would have been hurt. Obi-Wan only regretted his decision after witnessing Anakin's emotional wreckage; emotions he shouldn’t even have as a Jedi. 

“Oh!” Obi-Wan’s exclamation pulled Anakin from his analysis. “It’s not morning at all, is it?”

That managed to pull a chuckle out of Anakin, who looked out into the night sky through their balcony door.

“Nope. It’s the middle of the night.” The younger man turned and flopped down on the couch, long limbs sprawling everywhere. “That’s what happens when you fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon.” 

“And whose fault is that?” 

“Not mine!” Anakin defended. “Normally I wake up after a couple hours, so it’s definitely your fault, and now our sleep schedules are a mess.”

Obi-Wan scoffed while he rummaged through their cabinets for ingredients. 

“As if we both maintained proper sleep schedules before yesterday.”

Anakin hummed his agreement and watched Obi-Wan take charge of the kitchen with no intention of getting up to help. 

Coruscant’s sun rose a few hours after breakfast. The pair had fallen into a comfortable silence, both content to simply be in each other's presence. 

Obi-Wan took to reading articles from the Holonet on his datapad, an activity he didn’t engage in too often, but he fancied indulging in meaningless gossip every now and then. It was unreal how some people seemed to live as if there was no war at all. Anakin had never been as good as Obi-Wan at sitting still. He flitted around their quarters performing random tasks. He organized, reorganized, disassembled, and reassembled. He was more restlessly agitated than Obi-Wan had witnessed in some time, most likely because this was the longest break from a battle the two had been given in almost a year. 

When he’d finished terrorizing the kitchen, he turned his attention to their living room where Obi-Wan resided, who kept silent as Anakin moved around the scarce objects on their living room table. It failed to hold Anakin’s attention for long, who climbed to his feet with his gaze set on Obi-Wan’s collection of books across the room. 

“Oh, have mercy on my bookshelf, Anakin.” Obi-Wan looked up from his article, eyes following the tense lines of Anakin’s body.

“Sorry, Master.” His former padawan dropped his head, raised shoulders lowering slightly. “I’m– just…”

“I know.” Obi-Wan acknowledged soothingly. He gestured to the space next to him on the couch and turned off his datapad, setting it aside. “Come watch my favorite holodrama with me.” 

Anakin hesitated, an uncharacteristic sight that made Obi-Wan want to frown. Whatever internal conflict Anakin seemed to be fighting resolved itself quite quickly, however, as he soon brightened with an exaggerated eye roll and feigned reluctance.

“If I must, Master.” He made his way towards the couch and settled down beside Obi-Wan, a comfortable distance away for most people, but certainly a far distance away for someone as usually tactile as Anakin Skywalker. 

_No matter_ , Obi-Wan told himself. Anakin would come to him when he was ready. 

The rest of the day passed smoothly, albeit a bit tense at times when Anakin managed to work himself up and accidentally project the slightest inkling of hurt and distrust. It was nowhere near as aggressive as Anakin’s previous projections had been, so Obi-Wan wouldn’t complain. Perhaps feeling the pain he’d caused was the force’s idea of a punishment. After watching a few episodes of the holodrama, Anakin couldn’t focus on the screen anymore and suggested dinner, which Obi-Wan instantaneously agreed upon after realizing that they’d missed lunch. 

Eventually Anakin found a task that he could lose himself in for a few hours: tinkering with his mechno-arm. Obi-Wan used this opportunity to meditate for the first time in days, a practice that came much easier now that Anakin seemed calmer as well. 

“It’s late.” Obi-Wan prompted after finishing his meditation. He rose from the pillow he’d been sitting on and slowly moved towards his room. “I’ll be heading to sleep.”

He eyed Anakin’s position on the floor, hunched over the table and fully engrossed in whatever new improvements he was making to his arm. 

“I’m going to stay out here for a bit.” Anakin’s bottom lip was caught between his teeth, and he only spared Obi-Wan a glance before returning his attention back to his opened forearm. 

Obi-Wan nodded and retired to his room.

He laid in bed for close to an hour, listening to Anakin tinker away in their common room. Eventually, Obi-Wan heard the familiar sound of Anakin’s mechno-arm closing and a thick film of silence fell over their quarters. He relaxed on his back, willing his mind to fall silent as well when his bedroom door slowly slid open, just enough for someone to squeeze through and close it again. He knew that Anakin would be able to sense that he was awake, but feigned sleep regardless. It would be easier that way. 

Footsteps quietly padded around the bed, there was a shuffling of fabric being removed and dropped to the floor, and then the blankets peeled back. Anakin climbed into bed beside him, close enough that his warmth radiated against Obi-Wan’s arm but not quite touching.

Obi-Wan dreamt about falling and Anakin’s agonized, tear stained face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My uni semester is starting back up but I don't think that will hinder the weekly updates. Sometimes I want to post more often but I don't want to run out of material that I've already written.
> 
> The next update will be on Monday 1/25


	4. FOUR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin cries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

It was the morning of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s ninth day of their break from the battlefield. Coruscant’s sun was still low in the sky, not that it provided much light anyway, obscured by the planet’s hazy cloud cover. Obi-Wan’s bedroom was shadowed in darkness, save for a soft glow at his windowsill from the insomniac city outside and the occasional flood of a speeder’s headlights. The two figures that occupied Obi-Wan’s bed, one being Obi-Wan himself, laid still and lost to the physical world. It would have been silent if not for the sound of their breathing, one soft and slow while the other choked on short, hitched gasps of air. 

_Anakin was sprinting with Obi-Wan on the edge of his peripheral, running alongside him from one rooftop over. He wanted to turn his head to look at his master one last time, for he knew what was about to happen next, but his eyes stayed set firmly on the sniper in front of them. He said something over their comms system, but he couldn’t feel the words on his tongue and they sounded like static in his ears._

_He blinked, and Obi-Wan was falling. Obi-Wan crashed to the ground below right in front of Ahsoka, and this time when Anakin shouted, he heard himself calling his master’s name loud and clear. He tried to force his legs to jump over the edge, to meet Ahsoka and Obi-Wan on the ground, but that wasn’t what he had done that night._

_He chased after the assassin, knowing that he was leaving Ahsoka to cradle Obi-Wan’s dead body alone. The assassin escaped on a speeder, like he always did, and then Anakin’s legs turned him around and forced him to return to Obi-Wan’s lifeless body._

_He dropped to his knees beside Ahsoka. Grief and fear swelled within him so violently he felt like he could puke, but when he opened his mouth all that came out were more cries for his master. He was blinded by pain, the space in the Force usually reserved for Obi-Wan was just a void, and around them the buildings started to shake._

Anakin gasped, his breath stuttering when he tried to inhale. He was lying on his back beside Obi-Wan, who still slept peacefully, unaware of Anakin’s horror. As Anakin exhaled slowly, trying to calm the adrenaline filled beating of his heart, tears welled up in his eyes. He could not contain them. They leaked out of the corners of his eyes and fell silently to be soaked up by the pillow beneath his head. Anakin rolled to the left, where his mostly adjusted vision could make out Obi-Wan’s face in the darkness. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to rid himself of the remainder of his tears, but when he opened them again more filled and fell. 

He could not stop himself from reaching out underneath the blankets to find Obi-Wan’s arm. Even making contact with his metal hand elicited a full body shiver and formed a lump in Anakin’s throat. He swallowed it down and dragged himself closer to the other man, unable to relinquish the touch now that he’d established it. He curled himself into Obi-Wan’s side, tangling their legs together and pushing his wet face into Obi-Wan’s shoulder. There was no room in his grief-addled mind to think about the consequences of Obi-Wan waking up and finding him like this. He clung to Obi-Wan because the man who had caused him this pain was also the only one capable of keeping him from suffering it. 

He did not attempt to fall asleep again. 

When the color of the sky shifted to a murky yet promising light blue and suggested that it was a more acceptable hour of the morning, Anakin forced himself out of bed and into the ‘fresher. His tears had long since dried but his eyes felt puffy and raw. He rubbed his eyes with both hands, trying to revive the moisture in them.

Anakin moped as he readied himself for the day. Not in a childish way, but solemnly and morosely. He had just watched Obi-Wan die again in his dreams, after all. It was all he dreamed about lately. Sometimes his mind would invent new ways for Obi-Wan to die, and Anakin much preferred these dreams to the replay of the actual night when Obi-Wan had fallen from the roof. They were always bizarre and fantastical, and he would wake up the next morning knowing that they weren’t real. 

He wanted to stay mad at Obi-Wan, make him grovel for forgiveness and prove his loyalties. He also wished for their relationship to snap back into place and renew itself as it had been a few weeks ago. He’d taken their witty banter and unspoken understanding of each other for granted, and now that it was gone he realized how much he depended on it. Neither of these paths were truly the Jedi way, to harbor such negative emotions or to feel so attached to another. He _should_ have taken Obi-Wan’s deception in stride and accepted his actions at face value, as obedience to the Council. He should have tossed the feelings of betrayal that crawled up his throat into the Force, but as Obi-Wan had pointed out before, it wasn’t his strong suit. He’d been taught to release his emotions too late, he’d been embracing his feelings for nine years before the Jedi found him, and now the pain of Obi-Wan’s supposed death had burrowed home in his chest. 

It was then that Anakin realized his selfish isolation had left someone other than Obi-Wan in the dark. He exited the ‘fresher that was connected to Obi-Wan’s room and concentrated on straightening his robes in an attempt to not stare at the other man’s still sleeping form. Once he had safely made it to the living room, he found his forgotten communicator on the table beside Obi-Wan’s favorite chair. 

“Hey, Snips… you there? Ahsoka?” 

He hadn’t meant to give her the same treatment as he did Obi-Wan, but in truth he’d hardly given anyone else a single thought, too overcome by his egocentric emotions. It was shameful. He used her emotions to argue against Obi-Wan’s actions but hadn’t thought about how she would feel if he completely ignored her for a week. After all that she’d done for him, too, when he thought Obi-Wan to be dead. The comm link crackled to life. 

“Skyguy! It’s so good to hear your voice.” A smile pulled across Anakin’s face. She sounded as lively as ever. 

“It’s good to hear from you, too. Listen, are you at the temple? I need to talk to you.”

“Sorry, but the Council sent me on a mission with Master Plo Koon while you’re on break.” Ahsoka sounded hesitant, although Anakin was relieved to hear that she seemed genuinely apologetic that they couldn’t meet. “Surely they told you about my reassignment?” 

“Oh. No, they didn’t.” Anakin admitted, irritation and embarrassment edging into his tone. “I haven’t been the most accessible lately.”

“I know, Master.” There was a silent pause before she spoke again. “Sorry, I can’t talk any longer. Master Plo Koon needs me.”

“Stay safe, Ahsoka.” 

“I’ll be back before you know it, Skyguy!” That usual joyous optimism returned to her voice as she gave her farewell, and then the communicator fell silent. 

Anakin set the comm link back on the table, feeling slightly successful, although mostly disappointed that his padawan was gone. He shouldn’t have been shocked to hear that Ahsoka did not feel any ill will towards him after being cast aside for so long. She was one of the only Jedi who had any semblance of truly understanding him. He hoped it wouldn’t be long before he got his padawan back. Knowing the Council, they would send him on a mission while Ahsoka was still completing her own, and then they’d be just missing each other for weeks. 

A door sliding open pulled him from his thoughts, where Obi-Wan appeared on the other side. Anakin hadn’t noticed that he was awake, but judging by the man’s fully put together appearance he had most likely heard Anakin’s entire conversation. 

“You need your beard back.” Anakin spoke first, deflecting in case Obi-Wan wanted to bring up Ahsoka. “And longer hair.”

“I’m growing it as fast as I can.” Obi-Wan adapted to their banter naturally and brought a hand up to touch his regrowing beard. “You know, Satine once told me that the beard was hiding my handsome face.”

“I'm sure she did.” He had meant to tease Obi-Wan about his relationship with the duchess, but the words ended up coming out in an awkwardly bitter way. Anakin said nothing after that, and Obi-Wan, who had no idea how to respond, chose to change the subject and suggest a training session.

Anakin mulled over his feelings as he walked beside Obi-Wan to the training facility, unable to see the curious glances the other man was sending his way. 

Facing each other with ignited lightsabers and one single purpose was much easier for both Anakin and Obi-Wan. Fighting was second nature for both of the Jedi; even on a raging battlefield there was a simplicity to the act. In the straightforwardness of sparring, they’d temporarily forgotten about their shortcomings and easily fell into their familiar roles with each other.

“The past week has treated you poorly, old man.” Anakin smirked, twirling his blue training lightsaber confidently as him and Obi-Wan stepped around the mat, prowling around each other. “You’re slow.”

“Slow!” Obi-Wan scoffed, despite being the loser of their previous duel. “You were fighting dirty.”

“You taught me everything I know, Master. I just perform your own tricks better than you.” Anakin teased, before striking forward with brazen initiative. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at that, and an all-too-knowing expression crept upon his face as he easily fell into a defensive stance and blocked the blue lightsaber with his own. The two struggled, refusing to let up as their blades crackled together. 

“But I didn’t teach you everything that I know, young one.” Obi-Wan broke their convergence with the spin of his lightsaber, forcing Anakin’s to point towards the ground and using the opportunity to perform an attack of his own. Anakin leaned backwards and dodged the swipe of Obi-Wan’s lightsaber just as it coursed in front of his chest. The older Jedi followed the path of his blade and spun directly into another attack, something easily perceived by his former padawan, who parried. 

Wasting no time, Obi-Wan continued on the offensive, his blade colliding with Anakin’s three times in succession, forcing Anakin to backstep with each attack. He feinted to the left and struck low to the right, giving Anakin no choice but to awkwardly jump out of the way. Anakin swung his saber in front of him haphazardly, creating space between him and Obi-Wan, before collecting himself in a readied stance. Obi-Wan wouldn’t allow him the time to concoct an attack; he rushed forward, aiming as if to plunge his lightsaber into Anakin’s left side, but the motion was interrupted by Anakin’s blade meeting him from the opposite direction. Their training sabers crackled from the constant contact once more. 

Obi-Wan made the daring choice to kick Anakin, following up with a downward cut as the man was still staggering backwards. The strong blow knocked Anakin to the ground. He caught himself with his left hand and barely had enough time to hold his lightsaber up with his right.

“You should yield.” Obi-Wan quipped, pressing their lightsabers down until they were hovering a few inches above Anakin’s face.

“You should know not to underestimate me.” Anakin countered with a tired smirk. 

Grounding himself with his left hand, he kicked Obi-Wan’s feet out from underneath him. The older man fell forward, holding his lightsaber out of the way to avoid landing on it, creating an opening for Anakin to use his momentum against him and flip their positions. He pinned Obi-Wan’s lightsaber-weilding arm down with one hand and held his own dangerously close to the man’s throat. 

“You should yield.” Anakin mimicked, softly panting as he knelt over Obi-Wan’s body. 

“Lucky for you, I know when to quit.” Obi-Wan concurred, deactivating his training saber. 

“Yeah, lucky me.” Anakin sarcastically agreed, following suit in deactivating his lightsaber. He released his grip on Obi-Wan’s arm and made to stand, but as soon as the blade of his lightsaber disappeared he found himself being tugged down and flipped over, and suddenly Obi-Wan was the one leaning over him. 

But he didn’t see Obi-Wan, he saw Rako Hardeen, and he was pinned to the ground. He was being repeatedly punched in the face by the disguised man he was grieving for.

The Force around Anakin seized and burst, Obi-Wan flew backwards onto the sparring mat, and then Anakin was up and attacking with a vigor renewed by rage. Obi-Wan managed to roll onto his feet by the time Anakin crossed the gap to strike at him, the older man’s eyes wide with surprise. He ignited his lightsaber just before Anakin’s could slash diagonally from his shoulder to his hip. Their blades didn’t connect for long. Anakin withdrew and struck again, and again, and again. His attacks were sloppy but powerful, and Obi-Wan met each of them with a strong defense. 

“Anakin! What–” 

“Fight back!” Anakin was yelling now, and arbitrarily swinging his lightsaber one-handed. “Fight back!”

He swung again, but Obi-Wan surged forward and grabbed his wrist, forcing his arm to the side. Obi-Wan’s lightsaber hung idle in his other hand, he clearly had no intention of stoking Anakin’s anger, but his unwillingness to participate fueled Anakin just the same. 

“Stop it, Anakin!” His voice wasn’t quite raised, but dangerously authoritative. 

“Come on!” Anakin used his free hand to push with the Force, freeing his lightsaber from Obi-Wan’s grip and sending the man stumbling back a few steps. He twirled his saber once and glared, like a cat with an agitated tail. Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and stared at Anakin with troubled eyes. “Fight me!

He attacked again without waiting for a response. The offensive strike was reckless and entirely predictable. Obi-Wan flicked his hand and suddenly Anakin’s feet were sliding out from underneath him. He fell forward into Obi-Wan, who wrestled the lightsaber out of his hand and tossed both of their weapons to the floor. Anakin stumbled forward again as his weapon was yanked away. He caught himself with both hands on Obi-Wan’s shoulders, who pulled him in as a means of restraining the boy.

“Fight me.” Anakin grit out fruitlessly. He was straining against Obi-Wan’s hold, yet he was clutching him with the same intensity. He clenched his jaw when his eyes started to burn with heated tears. “You don’t have to wear someone else’s face to hit me.” 

Anakin glowered at Obi-Wan through blurry eyes, mouth pressed in a firm line as he desperately attempted to keep his tears from spilling. 

“Anakin…” His name was delivered with a sigh, as it often was when it came out of Obi-Wan’s mouth. The man was frowning in remembrance, and was beginning to look less alarmed and more distressed. “I’m so sorry.” 

The apology was some form of permission for Anakin to let his tears fall. Obi-Wan made a soothing noise and wrapped his arms around the younger man properly, one hand threading through Anakin’s hair and guiding his head down to rest on his shoulder. It was a bit of an awkward position since Anakin was taller than the man he was leaning upon, but he didn’t seem to care as he pressed his tears into Obi-Wan’s tunic. Anakin snaked one arm through the space between Obi-Wan’s tricep and torso, curling it up and around to clutch onto Obi-Wan’s shoulder from behind. 

“I’m so sorry.” Obi-Wan repeated in a soft voice, ignoring the way Anakin’s metal hand was beginning to squeeze painfully. He thanked the Force that the rest of the training facility was vacant. 

“I–” Anakin sucked in a faltering breath. “I h-hate–”

“Don’t say that.” Obi-Wan cut him off, squeezing the back of his neck. He rubbed Anakin’s back calmingly and tried not to gag on his contrition. “Please don’t say that.” 

Anakin’s metal hand tightened and he choked on a sob. Neither of the two Jedi knew what Anakin would have said next, but Obi-Wan feared the worst, even if Anakin was too upset to understand the weight of what he was saying. He feared that Anakin hated _him_.

“Obi-Wan.” The boy practically whined. The Force around him was seizing again, contracting with every shaky breath he took. Anguish was seeping through Anakin’s Force signature, infecting the air around them. 

Obi-Wan held Anakin as the boy insistently pressed against him. He closed his eyes and sought out the exterior of Anakin’s presence in the Force. He didn’t even have to ask for entry, as soon as Anakin felt him reaching out he dropped whatever was left of his helpless defenses. Obi-Wan pushed comfort through their bond, along with endless apologies, his sorrow, and his affection. Anakin took what Obi-Wan was offering greedily, letting the apologies heap atop him like blankets and harbouring the affection within a locked box in his heart. 

“I’m sorry.” Obi-Wan reinforced out loud. He gently carded a hand through Anakin’s golden hair. 

“I’m–” Anakin’s breath hitched and he made a frustrated noise. 

“Shh.” Obi-Wan tried not to think about the hand shaped bruise that was surely to develop on his shoulder. “It’s okay.” 

Anakin rubbed his face into the juncture where Obi-Wan’s neck met his shoulder. The sobs that had previously wracked his body were weakening to a mere sniffle. Several minutes passed before he gathered the courage to lift his head. Obi-Wan extended a reassuring smile as Anakin’s watery blue eyes met his. Anakin’s lip quirked but he couldn’t return the expression completely, too overwhelmed by his bombardment of emotions. 

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan reached up and removed Anakin’s metal hand from contusing his shoulder as casually as possible. “I cannot change the past, but I am sorry for the pain that I have caused you. I have no intention of causing you any more. I hope that you will be able to trust me again.”

Anakin wanted to tell Obi-Wan that he didn’t hate him, and if he had said those words, they wouldn’t have been true. He wanted to be far away, to spare himself the mortification of Obi-Wan witnessing his breakdown, but just like this morning, Obi-Wan was the only thing that allowed him to persevere. It was a sick joke from the universe, for the man his life was so strongly intertwined with to cause him so much pain. And despite this, Anakin knew that he would never be able to untangle himself from Obi-Wan, no matter what he’d done. 

But he did not say any of this. He nodded.

“I’m tired.” A massive understatement.

“Come on,” Obi-Wan wiped the remaining tears from Anakin’s face. “Let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, their relationship isn't perfect yet but it is certainly getting there. Only one more day off and then the boys are getting thrown back into being functional Jedi. 
> 
> The next update will be on Monday, 2/1.


	5. FIVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan actually expresses his feelings

By the time the tenth and final day of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s break rose above the horizon, Anakin was itching to do _something_. It wasn’t that he particularly enjoyed being on the frontlines of a war, but the past ten days of existing strictly inside the Jedi Temple pushed the realization upon him that he enjoyed seeing other parts of the universe a lot more than the repeating, familiar hallways that he had grown up in. He liked helping people, even if it cost him shallow wounds and sore bones. But there was another part of him, that selfish and wrongly attached part, that didn’t want him and Obi-Wan to return to being generals. He would live in the Jedi Temple forever if it meant that he could keep Obi-Wan securely in his life, which was another slightly alarming revelation he’d had after dwelling on where the Council would send them next, and if their next mission would be together at all. 

He wasn’t ready to let Obi-Wan go. Anakin had only just gotten him back. 

He wasn’t even allowed to spend his last day off in peace, although it probably wouldn’t have been extremely peaceful with the way his mind was tunneling. Both Anakin and Obi-Wan were rudely awakened by the persistent beeping of Obi-Wan’s comm link, which laid just within reach from Obi-Wan’s side of the bed. They’d seemed to come to an unspoken agreement that Anakin would be sleeping there for the nights that led up to the inevitable time when neither of them would be getting much sleep at all. The Force had at least spared them from the tension of waking up curled around each other like they had been that first night, though Anakin was so close to Obi-Wan that the bed might as well have been half its size. 

The younger man groaned in annoyance as the comm link continued to berate their ears, while Obi-Wan merely let out an inaudible sigh and rolled over to relieve them of the noise. Anakin heard a button click and then Mace Windu’s voice was projecting from the communicator and grating on his sleepy ears. Windu offered the pleasantry of being apologetic for waking Obi-Wan up, which the man beside Anakin brushed off in an equally pleasant manner. Anakin made a small noise to convey his disdain for the situation and sunk deeper into the blankets, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep or to at least be free of Windu’s voice. His behavior earned him a _look_ from Obi-Wan and a whispered “stop”. Mace, who had been speaking, trailed off.

“Is Skywalker with you?”

Anakin glared but it did not stop Obi-Wan from telling the truth, albeit rather vaguely. 

“Yes, it seems he just woke up as well.” He gladly omitted the part about Anakin being burrowed in bed right next to him. 

“Excellent, then I will see you both up here.” Windu instructed, and then ended the connection without a goodbye.

“Couldn’t you have lied?” Anakin sighed. “I don’t want to go up there.”

Since he wasn’t exactly listening to the whole conversation, Anakin could only assume that ‘up here’ had meant a meeting with the Council. 

An expression of great amusement and borderline fondness overtook Obi-Wan’s features. 

“No, Anakin, I don’t think it would be very fitting of a Jedi Master to lie for the sake of letting you sleep in.” Obi-Wan set the comm link down and climbed out of bed. He turned around to see Anakin stretching into the warm spot that he had just vacated. Obi-Wan shook his head and threw the covers off of Anakin’s body, much to the younger man’s dismay. “Go get ready. The Council is expecting us.”

Anakin refrained from complaining about Windu or the rest of the Council any more on the way to the meeting. They were about to be assigned to a mission, no doubt, and to potentially two very separate missions. It didn’t sit well with Anakin at all, and if he bumped into Obi-Wan now and again from how close he was walking to him, the other man didn’t say anything. 

When they entered the High Council Chamber, Anakin was surprised to see that the only members of the Council who were present were Windu and Yoda. He looked to Obi-Wan, as he tended to do when the Council did something he didn’t understand or agree with, and saw that Obi-Wan didn’t seem surprised at all. Anakin followed his former master to the center of the circular room, where they came to a halt in front of the two sitting Jedi. They both bowed in greeting with their hands folded into their large outer robes. 

“Ah, a good job of reconciling with young Skywalker, you have done.” Master Yoda delivered praise to Obi-Wan, much to Anakin’s disbelief. The world dropped out from underneath him. It took every fiber of self control for Anakin to keep his head from whipping to look at the man beside him. It probably would have been the better option, because in his efforts to keep himself from staring at Obi-Wan, his mouth opened and he blurted out:

“What?!”

A disapproving curl of Mace Windu’s lips resulted; Obi-Wan turned his head to look at him; and Yoda did not visibly react. If there had been time for Anakin to eat breakfast this morning, it would have been crawling up his throat.

“Thank you, Skywalker, that will be all from you.” Windu silenced him dismissively, doing nothing to help Anakin’s burning incredulity. 

Obi-Wan was _tasked_ to make up with him? Anakin clenched his jaw but did not speak again, still level-headed enough to know that another outburst would not suit him in this situation. He felt Obi-Wan’s eyes on the side of his face but could not trust himself to meet his gaze. 

“Thank you, Master.” Obi-Wan sighed, returning his attention forward and bowing slightly once more. “We talked about three days ago.”

“Better together, the two of you are.” Yoda nodded and contemplated the pair standing before him, perfectly content to ignore Anakin’s outburst. The Jedi Knight felt, despite his current confusion and anger, that a part of him was deeply validated by Yoda’s words. Even the Grand Master thought him and Obi-Wan to be a good team. 

As if to prove his statement, Yoda went on to task them with, as Anakin had expected, their next mission. He was slightly relieved that he wouldn’t have to lose sight of Obi-Wan just yet, but his mind became a blur as Yoda and Windu continued on to explain the details of their assignment. Anakin was still hung up on the fact that Obi-Wan had been _told_ to reconcile with him. A few members of the Council joined the meeting via hologram but Anakin did not register them. He felt betrayed all over again, though admittedly on a much lesser scale. 

He reflected back to his embarrassing break down in the training facility the day before, and Obi-Wan’s perfect reaction, perfect words, perfect comfort. 

_Had it meant anything?_

Anakin felt like he might overheat. 

A nudge in his side called his attention back to the present, and he regained enough awareness to bow in farewell with Obi-Wan before the older man was imperceptibly nudging him again, this time out of the chamber. 

They walked a generous distance away from the High Council Chamber, Anakin one step behind Obi-Wan the entire time. If he turned around, Anakin was sure he’d see his footprints scorched into the floor from the flames of anger that licked at his insides. Obi-Wan was walking as if the man behind him wasn’t about to burst, and stopped them in front of a large glass window that stretched up to the ceiling and revealed Coruscant’s city life below them. 

“The Council told you to make up with me?” Anakin stared at Obi-Wan defiantly, as if daring him to admit that he was, once again, only following the Council’s wishes. When Obi-Wan’s far too understanding eyes met his, he couldn’t help but glance away. 

“Master Yoda and Master Windu asked me to reconcile with you sooner rather than later.” Obi-Wan admitted, choosing his words carefully. “But they are not the reason for my actions or words these past few days, Anakin.”

“I don’t need them to tell me to be concerned for you, or to care for you.” Obi-Wan continued, reaching out and placing a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. He added with a smile, “I think they’d ask me to care for you a little less, if they were to task me with anything concerning you.”

Anakin blinked. 

“You’re _Obi-Wan_.” He shook his head. “The Council thinks you’re perfect.” 

Anakin could not comprehend the full meaning of Obi-Wan’s words. Obi-Wan was the model Jedi. He did not have attachments, he didn’t lie, he didn’t feel overcome by emotions, and he respected the Council more than Anakin ever could. Maybe Anakin would like the Council more if _they_ actually liked _him_. The only questionable thing that Obi-Wan had done that Anakin could think of was to let his fully grown former padawan sleep in the same bed as him, but that was special circumstances. That was because he’d been told to reconcile with him. 

Obi-Wan chuckled at Anakin’s naivety. He squeezed the younger man’s shoulder and extended his presence, brushing his mind against the edges of Anakin’s consciousness. Anakin did his best not to shudder at the sensation. He opened his mind and closed his eyes as their Force signatures intertwined with each other. 

_“The Council would not be accepting of this.”_ Obi-Wan’s words echoed inside Anakin’s head. He almost jumped at the sound of them; it was not often that they used the full potential of their bond.

“Our bond?” Anakin spoke aloud, opening his eyes to find that Obi-Wan had closed his as well. 

“You know that most training bonds are dissolved after the padawan becomes a knight. I… procrastinated the dissolving of ours, and you never brought it up, either.” Obi-Wan sounded very reluctant to admit any of this. His blue-gray eyes opened to gaze out of the tall window. “We had been thrown into the war, I told myself that it only aided us on the battlefield… and now,” 

_“They have no idea how strong it really is.”_

“Why are you saying all of this?” Not that Anakin had any complaints, but Obi-Wan had never been so generous in sharing his thoughts in such a way. Obi-Wan retracted from Anakin’s mind, who shamelessly chased after him. Obi-Wan let him hang on, distant but linked, as if they were holding hands. 

“Recent events have made me realize that I should have told you sooner. It doesn’t matter that you aren’t my padawan anymore. I don’t want you to doubt how much I care for you, and a bond as developed as this does not come without such emotions.”

_“And I am relieved that we can still communicate this way. I was worried that I had permanently damaged it after all the pain I've caused you.”_

Anakin wanted to live in this moment forever, lost in the rare display of the full strength of their bond, and with the spoken proof that Obi-Wan _cared_ for him warming his chest. But he wasn’t allowed to relish in the feeling for even a second longer, because Master Kit Fisto passed by with a few padawans trailing after him. Obi-Wan pulled away from Anakin completely, even dropping his touch on Anakin’s shoulder and nodding to the Jedi Master as he passed.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be having this conversation out in the open.” Anakin mumbled, turning and heading in the direction of their apartment.

“Good idea.” Obi-Wan agreed. “And I assume you’ll be needing me to explain the mission, since you clearly weren’t paying attention.”

“Hey!” Anakin tried to protest, but could not see a way of talking himself out of this one. “Alright, I wasn’t paying attention, but I feel like I had a good reason.”

Obi-Wan smiled at that, shaking his head softly. 

“We’ve been given a lead to follow concerning the location of a Sith Lord, or possibly a Sith base. Who it could be, we do not know.” 

“So what’s the lead? And where exactly are we going?” Anakin looked around as they walked. The temple seemed much more lively today than it had recently. Maybe he was just happier.

“There was an extreme surge of energy on the planet Malachor.” Obi-Wan nodded courteously to a pair of passing Jedi. 

“Malachor? I’m not sure that I’ve heard of it.” Anakin narrowed his eyes suspiciously. 

“It’s a Sith planet. Jedi are typically forbidden to go there. It hasn’t been occupied since ancient times, but there is a temple powered by a very large kyber crystal beneath the planet’s surface. It was both a temple and a weapon.” 

They turned a corner and rounded into the more residential part of the temple.

“And we think that the surge of energy was the weapon being used again? What kind of weapon are we talking about?”

“Master Yoda did not believe that the weapon was fully used. According to Jedi legends, it has the power to petrify living beings. If it had been used against any part of the galaxy, I’m sure we would have heard about it.”

“Activating it without using it seems like a pretty risky move.” Anakin frowned. “What if this is a trap? The Sith know that we would have felt that kind of surge in the Force. And shouldn’t we be taking more than just two Jedi to a Sith planet?”

They came to a stop in front of their door, where Obi-Wan waited for Anakin to unlock their quarters and enter before following him inside.

“We are not going to Malachor for a battle. It is unlikely that whoever activated the weapon is still on the planet, we are going strictly for recon.” Obi-Wan slid their apartment door closed behind him. “And out of all the Jedi, we are the best two for the job. We have a better chance of protecting each other from the manipulations of the Sith.”

“With what? The power of friendship?”

_“With this.”_ Obi-Wan echoed, sounding equally amused and exasperated. “So kind of, yes.” 

“What?” Anakin snapped, alarm overcoming how much he wanted to melt into Obi-Wan’s existence. “I thought you said The Council doesn’t know about it?”

“ _The Council_ doesn’t know.” Obi-Wan quirked an eyebrow. “I have a hunch that Master Yoda is a different story.”

“Great.” Anakin muttered. That would explain Yoda’s thoughtful comment about him and Obi-Wan being better together. “Two Jedi against a Sith planet. What could possibly go wrong?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand a new story arc emerges! Nothing like a Sith planet to mess these boys up even more :)
> 
> The next update will be in one week, Monday 2/8.


	6. SIX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin and Obi-Wan venture to Malachor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am posting this dangerously close to the end of the day. Sorry.

Artoo was a menace when Anakin came to retrieve him for the mission. He let out a series of very selective beeps to convey how he felt about not seeing Anakin for so long, even going so far as ramming his body into Anakin’s legs to get him to stumble about. Being told to set the coordinates of their Jedi shuttle to Malachor did nothing to calm the droid, who decided it best to practically scream at Anakin about it being a Sith planet, as if Anakin wasn’t well aware. Of course, Obi-Wan decided to board the ship right in the middle of Artoo and Anakin’s clamorous argument. He looked between the younger man and his astromech droid, but was unable to enjoy the ridiculousness of the situation when Artoo caught sight of him. The droid rounded on Obi-Wan and started screaming at him about faking his death, much to Anakin’s discomfort. Obi-Wan was unable to hold his own in an argument with Artoo, not quite as fluent in binary as Anakin was, especially when Artoo was practically screeching. 

“Okay, Artoo, that’s enough.” Anakin grumbled, placing a hand on Artoo’s head and attempting to push him away. The droid shook in anger and uttered a few more choice words but obeyed Anakin nonetheless. Anakin sighed and turned towards the pilot's chair. 

“What exactly was he on about?” Obi-Wan questioned, glancing back at Artoo as he took his place as copilot. 

“Nothing.” Anakin muttered. He kept his attention firmly on the dashboard of controls, flipping a few switches here and there. Artoo had set the course to Malachor and they were ready for take off. 

“That was not a convincing answer, but I will accept it.” Conceded Obi-Wan, shifting to take a look at the navigation that Artoo had generated as the shuttle lifted from the ground.

“He was just going off about having to travel to a Sith planet.” Anakin half-lied. “Which, for the record, I also think is a bad idea.”

“Well it’s certainly not going to be the most pleasant experience. The planet is going to test us.” Obi-Wan sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You mean, try to get us to turn to the Dark Side?” 

“Yes.” Sighed Obi-Wan. “But I expect it will be more than that. The planet was occupied by Ancient Sith. We’ll be recognized as Jedi as targeted ruthlessly. It’s good to have a bond such as ours so we can help shield each other.”

Anakin nodded in understanding as he manually flew the ship out of Coruscant’s atmosphere. He sneakily double checked their hyperspace navigations, knowing that Artoo would yell about not trusting his calculations if he saw, before jumping and setting the shuttle to autopilot. 

“It should be an easy flight.” Anakin commented as he leaned back in his seat.

“Good.” Obi-Wan climbed out of his chair. “I’m going to meditate. Maybe you should as well, it will be best to enter Malachor with a clear mind.”

“Uh, maybe.” Anakin waved him off for now. “Have fun with that.”

“It isn’t supposed to be fun, Anakin, perhaps that’s why you struggle with it so much.” Obi-Wan fixed him with a disbelieving look. Anakin made a disgruntled face but did not respond, choosing to swivel his chair to watch Obi-Wan leave the cockpit and disappear into the back of the shuttle. 

Even though it had been a few years since he was officially Obi-Wan’s padawan, the man never failed to continue schooling him. Now Anakin had a padawan of his own, and still felt as if there were times when he had no idea what he was doing. He wondered if Obi-Wan had ever felt that way when he was training Anakin, or if he had always been as wise and collected as Anakin remembered him to be.

* * *

Malachor was not a friendly looking planet. Anakin hadn’t expected anything less from a place that the Sith had favored, but the disturbing aura that accompanied its physical appearance was impossible to ignore. As soon as the Jedi shuttle exited hyperspace and revealed the purplish grey planet, an electrifying shiver traced up Anakin’s spine, and a dreadful anxiousness festered in his stomach as he piloted the shuttle towards Malachor’s surface. 

“What a nice looking place.” Anakin commented dryly, sneaking a glance at Obi-Wan beside him in hopes to gauge his emotions. He did not look nearly as perturbed as Anakin felt, with a set jaw and an expression of determination. 

“I’m plugging in the coordinates of where the surge of energy was recorded.” Obi-Wan leaned over the console, ignoring Anakin’s sarcasm. “Land over there.” 

It was not difficult to find a suitable landing spot. The whole planet was barren and mostly flat; a rocky wasteland. Anakin followed the coordinates that Obi-Wan had provided, and for a moment they flew blindly through a thick fog. The shuttle broke through the other side of the mist to reveal the planet gaping with a giant crater on its surface. In the center of the crater were multiple black pillars arranged in a circle, the bottoms of them immersed in what Anakin thought was water, but as they flew closer turned out to be an even denser, swirling fog. 

“Lovely.” Anakin could not withhold his sarcasm. The sight of the tall pillars had struck him as a warning, and he felt bogged down by the heavily polluted force.

“Stay on the ship, Artoo.” Anakin commanded, much to Artoo’s dislike, who was ready to trail behind him as always. The droid beeped out his opposition to such an order but did not try to follow Anakin and Obi-Wan down the ramp of the shuttle. 

“Wait.” Obi-Wan grabbed Anakin’s shoulder, stopping them just before they set foot on Malachor’s grey terrain. Anakin turned to him curiously. “We must both stay sharp. I do not know what kind of manipulations we are about to face, but I will do my best to shield you from them.”

Anakin smiled despite how unsettled he felt. He reached up and placed a hand overtop of the one on his shoulder. 

“And I will protect you, Master.”

Obi-Wan returned the smile. “Thank you, dear one.”

Anakin warmed at the endearment, and he might have let a sliver of his happiness slip through their bond before he reined it back in. It wasn’t often that Obi-Wan called him such a name. The war had slowly put a damper on the softer side of their relationship. There was no time to show affection, there was only entrusting their lives to one another when danger presented itself. There was witty one liners more often than comforting phrases, better to keep their situation lighthearted than to speak a horrible possibility into fruition, and the words that were never said transmitted themselves as emotions through the Force. In times of battle there was not a second to spare on words, they had learned to move harmoniously together off the slightest of whims. Their lives had slowly forged into one, without acknowledgement or intent, but Anakin recognized it now. 

Obi-Wan’s feigned death had shone a light upon a hapless truth, that two Jedi lives had become more entwined with each other than any two beings likely ever had, and they were technically forbidden to be this way. But Jedi were never meant to be soldiers, let alone generals in a war, either. 

If Anakin was any less athletic, he would have lost his balance as he mindlessly stepped down into the crater. The unsteady drop broke his train of thought, and the return to the present pulled his attention towards the towering black pillars that grew nearer and nearer. They weren’t completely smooth, the entire surface area of each pillar was engraved with unrecognizable markings. A faint humming raced from the back to the forefront of Anakin’s mind, similar to when one notices a ringing in their ear but is unsure of how long it’s been going on for. He glanced at Obi-Wan but the man showed no signs of experiencing something similar, he was stroking his slightly more promising beard with the look of a scholar. 

“This writing… it’s an old language.” Obi-Wan observed, peering at the endless sentences inscribed on the pillars. 

“Yeah…” Anakin nodded distractedly. They had walked so close to the pillars that he’d have to crane his neck to see how far they reached into the sky. The humming morphed into whispers, with multiple voices and layers of indistinguishable words. He didn’t know what the whispers were saying, but their intent was clear enough. They knew his every desire, and they could give it to him. He felt called by them, and they were drawing him to the very pillars that he stood in front of now. He wanted to get closer.

“Anakin, no!” Obi-Wan’s warning was too late; Anakin had already reached out and touched the stone pillar in front of him. 

The stone glowed red beneath Anakin’s hand and he gasped, pulling away as if he’d been burned. The whisperings fell silent, but the loss of them was filled by the loud shaking and crumbling of the ground beneath Anakin’s feet. His head snapped to the left to glimpse Obi-Wan’s shocked expression and then they were both falling, plummeting through the hole in the ground and into the planet’s center. Anakin yelped in surprise when the ground dropped from below him, and he scrambled to gain his bearings as smooth, black ground rushed closer and closer. He felt the friction in the Force around him and slowed his descent. Anakin’s feet hit the ground but the force of his landing knocked him to his knees, and in the following second Obi-Wan landed similarly a few feet away from him. 

“Looks like we found the temple.” Obi-Wan groaned as he stood up and brushed the rubble from his robes. 

Underneath the surface of Malachor was an enormous, hollowed out chamber, with multiple paths leading up to a gigantic pyramid in the very center. The Sith temple. It was like they’d fallen into another world. The pyramid looked to be constructed of the same material as the pillars above, which did not have their bases shrouded by the fog on the surface, but stretched down to the bottom of the chasm that the two Jedi had fallen into. It would have been completely dark if it wasn’t for the glowing red light provided by the tip of the pyramid.

“Sorry… I don’t…” Anakin brought both hands to his temples. “I don’t know why I touched it.” 

“It’s alright. Suits us in the long run.” Obi-Wan shot him a dubious glance. “But tell me the next time you feel something.”

“I’m always feeling something on this planet. Don’t you sense that shift in the Force? It’s different here.” Anakin was unsure if he should tell Obi-Wan about the voices that he heard. Even amongst Force sensitives, hearing voices wasn’t always promising, especially not on a Sith planet. 

Obi-Wan nodded. “I do. It’s… corrupted.”

The two Jedi looked down the path that would lead them to the temple. The path that they’d fallen onto was elevated; it curved and ramped down to ground level where the pyramid sat. The entire area was built of grey stone, where engraved archways and sculptures littered the area around the temple. If it wasn’t for the red energy emitting from the pyramid, Anakin would have thought that he’d lost the ability to see color. 

As they grew nearer to the temple, a humanoid figure caught Anakin’s eye. His vision strained under the lowlighting, but it was unquestionably the statue of a man, posed in an offensive position as if he was about to strike downwards with a lightsaber. Anakin strayed away from Obi-Wan’s beelined path to the pyramid. He stepped towards the statue, surprised to see how detailed it was as he got closer, and as he did, at least a dozen more statues emerged from the darkness. They were all posed as if they were in the middle of a battle.

“Anakin!” Obi-Wan called. His quick footsteps hurried after his former padawan. “Don’t wander off!” 

The statue that Anakin had first seen was shorter than Anakin up close. He leaned down to take in the details of the face, distantly awed by how _real_ all the statues looked, when–

A face with yellow eyes materialized in front of him. Anakin screamed and fell backwards but the face followed, black veins emerging from underneath its skin. Anakin squeezed his eyes shut and braced his hands in front of him for an attack. Blood red, pitch black, and a searing white rapidly flashed behind his eyelids in sequence. He yelled again, hands flying to cover his eyes. 

Distantly, someone was calling his name. 

_**Such lack of control from a Jedi,**_ someone else hissed. Anakin jolted. The voice was so loud inside his mind it felt as if his head might explode from the pressure.

_**Your emotions are more suited for the Dark Side, young one.  
You could be so powerful. You’d never lose anyone again. ** _

“No. I didn’t lose him.” Anakin whimpered, unaware if he was speaking aloud or not. 

He curled his knees to his chest and clutched his pounding head in both hands. The bombarding colors faded from his vision to be replaced by an image of himself bound by chains. They were wrapped around his torso, trapping his arms to his chest. There were four people lingering in the shadows around him, each pulling taught on a chain that was attached to a collar on his neck. A red light cast upon each one of them. Obi-Wan. Padme. Chancellor Palpatine. Mace Windu.

_**Freed from slavery just for the Jedi to give you another Master.  
Love ruined by secrecy.  
Manipulated and lied to by those you are meant to trust.  
They fear you because you are the Chosen One.  
You could rule them all!** _

“NO!” 

“Anakin!”

Warmth. He forced his eyes open and gasped for air, his heart was beating as if he’d been running for his life. Another face swarmed his vision but it wasn’t that horrifyingly veined one, it was Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan was surrounding him, shielding him from the penetrating horrors of the Sith. 

“It’s okay. It wasn’t real.” Obi-Wan was kneeling beside Anakin’s coiled form, one hand resting on his shoulder and the other on Anakin’s knee. Anakin’s hands shook as he reached for the man in front of him, desperate to ground himself. He tried to concentrate on how it felt to be wrapped safely in Obi-Wan’s presence. Obi-Wan was real. What he had seen was not.

“I-I’m fine. I’m fine.” Anakin collected himself, trying to portray that what he had just experienced was less jarring than it truly had been.

“What did you see?” Obi-Wan questioned, rising to his feet and offering Anakin his hand. 

“I–” Anakin faltered. “It was nothing important.” 

Obi-Wan gave him an unconvinced expression but did not press any further– for now, at least. Anakin was sure that he wouldn’t be able to avoid explaining what had happened forever. He accepted Obi-Wan’s offered hand and jumped up, loosening his grip so that his fingers could brush the man’s palm as he slid his hand away. 

“Something horrible happened here. The weapon.” Anakin shuddered. He was too afraid to take another look at any of the solidified humans. 

He walked the rest of the way to the temple staring at the ground with Obi-Wan’s mind blanketing his own. There was a triangle archway hollowed out at the base of the pyramid, which opened up into a spacious hallway that led towards the center of the structure. The two Jedi hesitantly passed underneath the archway and walked down the unidirectional hallway. The walls seemed to surge with the same red energy that had erupted from the pillars on the surface, fading and resurfacing as if the entire structure was breathing. The pathway came to an end when they reached another triangle shaped archway, except this one appeared to be sealed off with the same material that the temple was made of. 

“Hmm.” Anakin vocalized. “Was it sealed off after everyone was petrified?”

“Possibly,” Obi-Wan shook his head. “But I sense something on the other side.” 

Anakin watched as Obi-Wan reached out with one hand, and felt him call upon the Force to help him move the black stone slab. The archway shook and dust drifted down from the top, but the stone refused to budge. Obi-Wan reached out with his other hand as well, straining against the resistance, but still nothing. The man huffed and relinquished his efforts.

“Let me try.” Anakin stepped in front of the other man and mimicked his stance. He breathed in slowly and opened himself to the Force, feeling the opposition of the doorway and the open space behind it, as well as the influx of energy emanating from the entire pyramid, and Obi-Wan’s familiar Force signature connected with his own. He honed his focus on the archway and the black stone filling it, tracing along the sides of it and looking for a give. There, where the dust had drifted down, was an open space. Anakin pulled upwards but the stone refused to move, it merely shook in place. 

“We have to lift it up.” Anakin breathed, stepping back alongside Obi-Wan. “Both of us together.” 

“How do you figure that?” Obi-Wan asked, looking at Anakin curiously. 

“The Sith rule of two.” The answer was spilling from Anakin’s mouth before he had time to deduce where the knowledge had come from. 

Obi-Wan hummed in cautious agreement and raised his hands again. They inhaled together and lifted. Still, it was not effortless, both Jedi were using a considerable amount of strength to force the stone upwards. They ducked underneath to find another blocked wall in their way. Anakin shifted half of his attention to the new stone slab, confident that they had to lift this one as well. Obi-Wan followed suit and together they lifted the second wall while holding the first one in place. 

“Another?” Anakin gasped. He was straining against the weight of both walls and was sure that Obi-Wan was feeling the same. 

“Drop the first one.” Obi-Wan advised, the grit of his teeth a testament to how much resistance the Sith temple was inflicting upon both of them. 

The first doorway crashed down as both Jedi redirected their energies to the next wall. Together, they lifted it as they had the previous slabs of stone, just high enough for them to duck under. Another wall stood in their way. Anakin began to wonder if this would ever end, but the space behind the next wall felt much grander than the small areas between each of the walls they had just lifted. Just like before, they dropped the second wall and forced the fourth one upwards. Anakin let out a breath of relief as they bent underneath the final wall and rose into a gigantic circular room. 

“Very well done.” Obi-Wan complimented.

“I did pay a bit of attention when I was a padawan, you know.” Anakin smirked. 

They took a moment to regain their energy as they surveyed the space. The ground they were standing on dropped off into a deep chasm. It was far too wide to jump, and yet across the distance there was a circular platform surrounded by smaller triangular monuments. In the center of the circle was what looked like a miniature version of the pyramid they had ventured into, but instead of the glowing red light beaming from the top of the temple, there was a beaming triangle of energy sitting in the very center. 

Anakin squinted. 

“It’s a holocron!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to move the next update to either two or three weeks away. University is a lot right now.


End file.
